Tomorrow was supposed to be border crossing day, but after my 8am eyeball appointment we decided to see how far we could drive today. We drove through the Canada/USA border around 11:30am and just kept going.
The actual border crossing only took about 9 minutes. This year we crossed from Osoyoos, BC into Oroville, Washington. There were three lanes open, but only one vehicle was waiting to enter the USA.
A US agent did a quick walk through JohnnyDisco and glanced at our passports, but didn't bother looking at either our vehicle registration or dog papers.
They asked all the usual questions:
- where do you live
- where are you going
- for how long
- what do you do for a living
- have you ever been arrested/do you have a criminal record
- are you carrying any fruit, vegetables or plants
- are you carrying any alcohol, cigars or firearms
- do you have over $10,000 cash
- how much cash do you have on you (I was surprised to hear this question - can they ask this?)
They were both nice guys, but questioned us twice about carrying firearms or drugs. Honestly, does anyone ever answer that with a yes? "As a matter of fact sir, I did hide a batch of rifles and a snippet of cocaine under the floorboard. Is that a problem?"
Couple more pics from our drive today - this one was taken on the way to the USA border:
Funny sign just past the border crossing.
Here's a newly paved road heading towards Grand Coulee Dam in Washington.
And here was the happy little surprise waiting for us at the RV park when we checked in this afternoon.
Haven't opened it yet - I'll show you what it is in the next post.
Money info:
We were just under a quarter tank when we gassed up JohnnyDisco this morning in the Okanagan ($282 CAD). Haven't needed gas yet in Washington, but prices have ranged from $3.73 to $4.07 per gallon (USD).
Our RV park is $18/night and includes full hook-ups (50amp) plus very speedy wireless internet. Can't tell you which one it is til after we leave. You're probably not a stalker, but you just may be a bill collector looking for money :)
So happy to hear your border crossing went well. And yes, our agent also asked us how much cash we had on hand, both Canadian and American cash.
We are having fun in Minneapolis, but it is so cold here. The high today was 7c
Safe travels !! TnT
Posted by: Trent and Teresa | October 19, 2011 at 05:36 PM
TnT,
We're in Grand Coulee, Washington - daytime temp was 17C with sun today, but we're leaving tomorrow.
The border agents asked you about cash too? We've always gotten the "do you have more than $10,000 with you" but we've never been asked "how much money do you have with you"?
In my opinion, it's none of their damn business!!
Luckily they directed this question towards my very even tempered Fella, instead of me :)
Have an excellent adventure, you two!
Posted by: kelsi | October 19, 2011 at 05:46 PM